Chapter 73

• Danielle sat in the quiet of her apartment, her thoughts spiraling like a storm she couldn’t outrun. The flickering light from the lamp on her desk cast long shadows across the room, shadows that seemed to echo the turmoil inside her chest.
• Theo’s fever had broken the night before. The relief that had swept through her was indescribable—like coming up for air after drowning. She had stayed by his bedside, sponging his forehead, whispering little reassurances she wasn’t sure he even heard. And when his eyes had finally fluttered open, her heart had crumbled at the tiny word that slipped past his lips:
• “Mommy…”